Red Pepper Flakes. A blog by Imelda Suriato

Photography & The Digital Age

When iPad arrived and all these apps started popping up, I was really not getting all the hype. It’s just an enlarged iTouch. Right? Then I saw The Guardian‘s iPad app, Eyewitness, and I was blown away by how crisply and smoothly presented the images are. The application brought the message to the medium perfectly and the result is breathtaking: The touchable images are so right there in front of you, they litterally take your breath away.

This little moment brought to mind what the photographer and director Michael Grecco wrote in his blog about “The Crazy Industry” that is photography:

I don’t think we’ve even begun to see the visual changes ahead. I think photography will become this hybrid thing on peoples devices that will incorporate the beauty of the still images in composition, content and feel, but then it will additionally be able to move, inform, and help you act.

With the shrinking of the print world, there will be interesting changes on the way work is presented for photographers and artists alike. Like putting up an online portfolio to showcase your work, magazines are also converting to the digital form.

Michael pointed out Issuu.com, a digital publishing platform that can turn your print publication into its digital version that works on the web or even on the iPad by a simple upload. It’s a great way to simplify the presentation layer while creating a database of work by others that allow photographers to see what’s out there and basically “gives me a perspective, not only on myself, but on our society and where we’re heading visually.”

There are other digital publications out there that provides stunning and inspiring photography. Take Victor by Hasselblad and Visura Magazine, beautiful photo glossies.

For dailies, here are my favorites:

• The Big Picture (Boston.com/The Boston Globe)
• Plog Photo Blog (Denver Post)
• Photo Journal (The Wall Street Journal)

Dramatic, touching, heart-breaking, uplifting… These images should inspire more than just photographers, but also creative minds to find new ways to experience them.

p.s.: I didn’t include National Geographic because it’s just so obvious, no?

Beauty brands online: Summer 2010 #1

Revlon—Modern Glamour: Runway Looks to Virtual Makeover

When Squeaky first nabbed the Revlon digital account, we are excited because we were not only working with a global brand with its world-famous ambassadors (i.e. Halle Berry, Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba), we were also presented with a challenging task for a total site re-engineering. So we brought in the glitz of fashion and celebrity, and the technology of virtual makeover.

Tapping into the star power of Revlon’s Global Artistic Director, Gucci Westman, we added behind-the-scenes Fashion Week runway and get-the-look videos into the Beauty Lounge section. From Oscar de la Renta to Rag & Bone, you get all the inside tips & tricks directly from the superstar makeup artist herself.

When we were asked to recommend a virtual makeover engine for Revlon, we did a thorough review of two of the most prominent virtual makeover software available in the market: Daily Makeover & Taaz.* Squeaky’s final recommendation for Revlon’s Virtual Makeup Artist™ is to use Taaz because it allows for a more sophisticated application with very subtle sheerness for glosses, shadows and color hues.

For example, mascara application lengthens the lashes when the amount is increased while on DailyMakeover, the mascara only becomes thicker at the base. In addition, Taaz provides options for types of top and bottom lashes while DailyMakeover only provides Top, Top & Bottom and Bottom. We really like that Taaz’s makeover preview area is much larger than DailyMakeovers. The model’s photos are also more natural with visible blemishes, providing Revlon with real makeover experience as complexion improves upon sheer application of foundation, concealer and blushes.

Other beauty brands that also utilizes Taaz’s virtual makeover engine are Estée Lauder and just recently, TopShop.

Estée Lauder—Let’s Play Makeover

One of the main draw of Estée Lauder’s Virtual Makeover is the use of Hilary Rhoda, the brand’s face since 2007, as the model for you to play with. Everyone would look gorgeous with those blue eyes.

Unfortunately, the “1-Click Look” feature only has one look at a time, while Revlon’s “Get The Look” has seven looks from their ambassadors to choose from.

TopShop Make Up—Virtual Makeover

While TopShop‘s has four looks to choose and three models to play with—if you don’t feel like uploading your own photo, Revlon has six models with wider complexion range to choose from. On top of that, since Revlon has Hair Color products, the Virtual Makeup Artist lets you choose hair color and styles you like to best complete your look.

We continuously think about new ways to improve the Revlon site, including the Virtual Makeup Artist, and believe me when I say we are brimming with exciting ideas. So stay tuned!

Up next is Part 2: From Lancôme’s YouTube sensation, Michelle Phan, to Bobbi Brown’s Pretty Powerful and Chanel’s Coco Rouge

*The review was performed on September 2009.

Automotive brands online: Summer 2010

Renault—The Mégane Experiment: “Can a car change a town?”

The premise: In 2010 Renault discovered a set of fascinating statistics. According to the figures, towns with more Mégane were happier, had higher rates of fertility and longer life expectancies. To put this theory to the test, they’ve sent Claude, a ‘consultant de joie’ to Gisburn (Lancashire), a town with no Méganes and apparently very little joie de vivre, to conduct ‘The Mégane Experiment‘.

Done by Publicis, the Renault UK campaign takes a light-hearted Anglo-French cultural comparison of the two distinct villages, basically telling the people of Gisburn that their town and people are crap and they need to do something. Watch Claude, the self-proclaimed “joie de vivre” expert, as he attempts to educate the people of Gisburn on the subject and introduces the Mégane car model as the thing that can bring joy to the city.

The Mégane Experiment‘ is hilarious in a French Borat kind of way.

Volkswagen—Anyone for a Sunday Drive?

Volkswagen Canada resurrects the oft-forgotten Sunday drive. The campaign for the new VW Golf by Red Urban asks what happened to the spirit of of the Sunday drive. “Anyone for a Sunday Drive?” campaign is true to the Volkswagen spirit: Cheeky, fun-to-drive aspects of VW. It’s for people who don’t just drive to go from Point A to Point B; It’s for people who simply love to drive.

Don’t forget to go to Remix Road and have fun—‘S Wonderful, ‘S Marvelous is definitely in my head now!

Note: I didn’t see this anywhere on the site, but supposedly Canadians also have the opportunity to record their own Sunday driving experiences and share them online.

Ford Fiesta—The Fiesta Project

Ford Fiesta kicks up the summer with The Fiesta Project where they asked real people to come up creative ways to put the new 2011 Fiesta to the test. Interesting videos are then shot, from “Fiesta vs. Lamborghini” to “Dawn of The New Key Fob.”

Because there are no direct sales pitch per se and that “How Much Can It Bear?” has a touch of Super Troopers spirit, this one stands out in my book.

Jeep—The Things We Make, Make Us.

Jeep has been allover television and the web lately with its “The Things We Make, Make Us” campaign for Grand Cherokee. The slight note of propaganda takes you to a journey through American industrialism, patriotism and everyday hard-working people. It’s not war propaganda, it’s a propaganda of America’s manufacturing prowess.

I like the tone, the big, bold typography, the video and the clanking in the music. It reinforces the manifesto: “Our newest son was imagined, drawn, stamped, hewn and forged here.” This 2011 Grand Cherokee is 100% American, and I like it.

KIA Sportage—What’s Your Sportage Style?

KIA Sportage adds a little Facebook chatter to their web presence, starting from a simple tab on Facebook that invites you to experience and share your Sportage 360° thoughts to a sleek Flash microsite with nice scene building, extreme close-ups of features and an FB Chatter page.

Sadly, not that many people join in the chatter.

Other notables:

Volvo—Naughty S60: Microsite and on Facebook asking “Which City is the Naughty Capital of Europe?”

Toyota Camry—Autobiography: Strong Facebook presence to support TV buy. Facebook application allows you to tell your Toyota Story and upload your video.

Patrizia Pepe F/W 10/11: Faceless

Patrizia Pepe, the Italian fashion label and one of Florence’s best-kept secrets, has been on my radar since I stumbled upon them on YOOX, my guilty pleasure.

For their Fall/Winter 2010/2011 Campaign, the label decided to go with Who Is Patrizia? and covered the faces of models with various objects, from boombox and rubber duckie to feathers and a Chihuahua. The idea behind the mysterious campaign by TBWA Italia is clearly to raise awareness about the label’s designer Patrizia Bambi. Who? Exactly. And now you want to know.

Besides not needing any famous models for the photo shoot, the faceless models made you look at the stylish clothing and intricate details. The F/W 2010/2011 collection is well-groomed, minimalist and bold. Oversized lapels, sparkly fabrics, intricate stitching and ruches are paired to draw attention.

And not just because I have a coat addiction, but my, my… the navy blue admiral jacket is just fetching!

QR Codes + Graffiti > Commerce

Everybody is talking about Calvin Klein’s “Get It Uncensored” QR Code billboard in SoHo. So what. It’s been around in Japan for ages (well, maybe not ages, but since the 90’s). Invented by Denso-Wave in 1994,  it’s now pretty much on every printable/projectable surface.

The US market is finally catching on and we started seeing commercial uses such as the Calvin Klein billboard or the Nordstrom storefront, or as tourism tool being utilized by European cities like Bordeaux, France, with its Digital City Project or Senigallia on Italy’s Adriatic coast with its QRCity. And yeah, it’s the next biggest thing and its cool. But it has to be more than commerce or tourism.

Then came the Berlin-based urban artist Sweza. Since graffiti are always removed by either the local authorities or property owners, he decided to photograph the graffiti to preserve it and after the graffiti was removed, he placed a QR code in the exact location, which shows you the original. It’s QR code acting as graffiti, but cleaner. Very clever.

Taking that a step further, Digit, a London-based interactive communications agency, is QR-Coding graffiti and making it a talking point. Called I Could Do That, the project basically stems from how everyone always has an opinion about different urban art. A QR code is placed next to each graffiti/art piece which brings you to a site where you can post your comment or read other people’s. So now the graffiti becomes an invitation to a dialogue, creating a reciprocity of some sort.

See samples of comments on Vhils piece above.

For me, it allows the city dwellers/walkers to have a kinship with the concrete you walk on and the walls you pass through. It is “if this walls could talk” times ten. And I like that.

End notes: Thanks to 2d code for being such a resource for all things QR code. What’s the future? I see on-the-spot public voting (from policies to ideas) and online-offline dialogue (think conferences or soapbox orations a la Hyde Park) to QR code as bouncers (yup, you’re not on the list, buddy!). It’s going to be a lot of fun.

If you have any interesting ideas on QR code application, let me know.